Today, the Senate passed another SCHIP bill with major flaws, especially
its failure to cover poor children first. Congress has known for weeks
that the President would veto this bill. Now Congress should get back
to work on legislation that covers poor children - and stop using
valuable floor time to make partisan statements.

Like the previous bill, this bill also shifts children with private
insurance onto the government rolls, uses taxpayers' dollars to
subsidize middle class families, and raises taxes. It does all this
while costing even more over the next five years than the version the
President previously vetoed.

Whatever the Administration's policy differences with Congress, the
President strongly supports reauthorizing SCHIP. Congress should
address the serious flaws in this bill and produce legislation that puts
poor children first and does not raise taxes. To relieve the minds of
parents and governors, this program should be extended soon so that poor
children do not lose health care because of partisan politics.